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Many, many thank you’s to everyone who took time from their busy sunny summer Saturday to spend an hour with me at the West End Gallery yesterday. It was a very full house with plenty of faces I know well and quite a few that were new to me. Hopefully everyone went away satisfied with their decision to spend their time at the gallery.
I know that I am certainly glad they came. Their warmth makes me feel most welcome and their questions create the real form and content of the talk. I am always pleased at the questions they ask. Most are quite probing and require me to truly consider my answers. I know that sounds funny, that it seems obvious that every response should be considered. But there are some questions that I have been asked many times so the answers just come out reflexively. I am often asked questions at these talks that come from different angles, that require a moment to look at what is really being asked.
Hopefully, I got to the point of what was asked.
Again, a boatload of thanks to the folks who came and to Jesse, Lin and John at the West End Gallery for being the perfect hosts.
That being said, I can say that I gave a big sigh of relief when it was over. One would think it would be easy by now, especially given the open acceptance of the audience, but for someone who works in private solitude seven days a week it is a daunting task to stand before a group of people and try to speak coherently in an open and honest way about inner things.
When these things finally end the relief is quickly replaced by a feeling of fatigue that quickly sets in. I was wiped out after yesterday’s talk. But I am somewhat refreshed this morning and can start preparing for the next one, about six weeks from now in Alexandria. But I’ll put off worrying about that for a while.
For this Sunday morning music I chose a song about things being over. It’s a version of Bob Dylan’s It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue by the group Them from way back in 1966. Featuring Van Morrison who sang lead for the group before he had his great solo career, this is a great version of the song. Give a listen and have yourself a great day.
Posted in Event, Music | Tagged Bob Dylan, gallery talk, Them, Van Morrison, West End Gallery | 3 Comments »
No Hype. Here are the details:
Gallery Talk today.
Saturday, August 4.
1 PM.
West End Gallery.
Corning.
Art Talk and Tall Tales.
Lots of Questions and Some Answers.
Win a Painting.
Or two.
Plenty of Giveaways.
Hope you can make it.
Posted in Event | Tagged gallery talk, GC Myers, West End Gallery | 1 Comment »
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Art is the soul of a people.
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Getting ready for tomorrow’s 1 PM Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery in Corning. There are a few new paintings that I am framing today to bring along with me. I am also getting some other things together that will no doubt show up including the painting, Pipedream, that will be given away at the end of the talk.
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I’ve also been running things through my mind that I want to discuss. One thing I will try to touch on is the purpose of art. That’s where the quote above from the late American painter Romare Bearden comes in. In a very concise manner, it sums up the importance of art.
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Win This Painting! –“Pipedream”
Art, in all forms, is our soul, our collective spirit and memory. It is the expression of our values and beliefs. It completes our humanity.
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Without art, we are less human. We are without our soul.
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Okay, maybe that will be a subject. I never fully know until I am standing there, trying to look composed while my anxiety causes my mind to shoot off fireworks inside my skull. But I do know that we will talk about something and tell some stories. You know, it might very well be interesting, even fun. Plus, there are prizes! What’s not to like?
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So, if you’re in Corning tomorrow around 1 PM, stop in at the West End Gallery and join in the conversation. Maybe you’ll take something home you were not expecting.
Posted in Event, Quote | Tagged Art, gallery talk, GC Myers, Quote, Romare Bearden, West End Gallery | Leave a Comment »
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If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.
—Jiddu Krishnamurti
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The painting, Apex, as shown above on the left had been bouncing around galleries for quite a few years. It was one of those pieces that kind of gnawed at me after awhile. There was so much that I liked about it and it felt complete yet I began to feel that something was lacking.
The color bothered me. It looked washed out and pale. Now, I have done pieces with that sort of color and it can be very effective but in this instance the lack of intensity in the colors seemed to handicap the whole painting. The more I looked at it over the years, the more I saw the blue of the sky looking dull and lifeless.
And it felt like the trees on the ascending path were too sparse. I don’t know much about musical composition, can’t tell a quarter note from a half note, but when I looked at the hill with the trees I felt like I was looking at a piece of music and some of the notes were missing. It wasn’t saying what it should be saying.
And the central character, the Red Tree at the top, felt dark and small, not bursting forward as it should, at least in my mind.
The whole thing just felt like it was on life support– barely alive but but with no vigor, no spark.
But it was still alive and there seemed to be something in it that really pulled me in, I decided I needed to intervene, to either reinvent it or completely kill it. So I went in and deepened the colors of the sky and the hill dramatically. This created a nice contrasting tension and made the tree that were added to the upward path stand out more. The Red Tree grew larger, brighter and bolder while the clouds in the sky slimmed a bit.
It was dramatic transformation. It was like Charles Atlas’ 97-pound weakling transforming, with the aid of his patented Dynamic Tension, into a beefy he-man who takes on the beach bully and gets the girl. I know that last sentence means next to nothing to those of you under the age of fifty but if you ever saw those old magazine ads, you’ll get it. You can click here to go to an old blog entry that shows that ad.
That might be a goofy comparison but as I sit here and look at the transformed painting, it’s hard to imagine that that it once was that old version of itself.
And it all came about thanks to Dynamic Tension. Thanks, Charles Atlas!
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This reinvented painting will be with me at my Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery in Corning this coming Saturday, August 4. The talk begins at 1 PM and it should be a good time. In addition to the great conversation and plenty of prizes, I have also procured a monster truck act– Truckasaurus Rex— as well as a T-shirt cannon.
Okay, maybe that’s not quite accurate. Or true in any sense of the word. You’ll have to come see for yourself.
Posted in Painting, Quote, Technique/History | Tagged Charles Atlas, Dynamic Tension, gallery talk, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Painting, West End Gallery | Leave a Comment »
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Okay, the details are coming together for the 1 PM Gallery Talk I am giving on Saturday at the West End Gallery. Here’s what I have so far.
There will be:
- Margarita Fountain and Omelet bar.
- Psychic Readings.
- Bagpipers.
- Guest Appearance from Jimmy Osmond.
- The June Taylor Dancers. Or the Golddiggers from the Dean Martin Show. We are still in negotiations with both.
- Rap Battles.
- Ziplines.
- Fireworks Display.
- A Fly-Over by the Thundercats. Couldn’t get the Thunderbirds but I have been assured these guys are nearly as good.
- Acrobats. Kind of a Cirque du Soleil vibe but without all the apparatus. Or movement or music.
Okay, maybe I let my imagination get away from me. Actually, it will just be a middle-aged guy talking about art. I might hold a sparkler but that is as close to spectacle as it will get. But there is a free drawing for one (or more) of my paintings. And there are, of course, more prizes and some light refreshments. And lively conversation which makes for a good time.
Here’s my promise: It won’t be the worst hour you ever spent.
Hope you can make it.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Absolutely none of the items listed in red above will be on hand this Saturday at the West End Gallery unless Jimmy Osmond or the Golddiggers somehow find their way into the gallery.
Posted in Neat Stuff | Tagged gallery talk, GC Myers, West End Gallery | 2 Comments »
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The above quote is from Wassily Kandinsky and concisely captures what might be the primary motive for my work. I think, for me, it was a matter of finding that thing, that outlet that gave me voice, that allowed me to honestly feel as though I had a place in this world. That I had worth. That I had thoughts deserving to be heard. That I was, indeed, here.
That need to validate my existence is still the primary driver behind my work. It is that search for adequacy that gives my work its expression and differentiates it from others. I’ve never said this before but I think that is what many people who respond to my work see in the paintings- their own need to be heard. They see themselves as part of the work and they are saying, “I am here.”
Hmmm…
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This was one of the early posts from this blog from back in 2008. It remains true to this day, nearly ten years later, as the idea of “I am here” still drives my work.
Maybe this will be one of the things we touch on this coming Saturday, August 4, at my Gallery Talk at the West End Gallery, starting at 1 PM.
Maybe. Or maybe we’ll just have a sing-along. Who knows? It’s a fluid thing.
Posted in Biographical, Motivation, Quote | Tagged Influence, Motivation, Quote, Wassily Kandinsky, West End Gallery | 3 Comments »
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The artist has to transcend a subject, or he loses the battle. The subject wins.
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Fritz Scholder (1937-2005) was an Native American painter. I wasn’t going to use the Native part because he had claimed at one point in his career that he was not an Indian painter nor would he ever paint Indians. Much of his work adhered to that idea but his work, in many cases, definitely reflected his experience as a Native American. His work followed the modern trails of painters like Francis Bacon and Willem de Kooning but certainly expressed his personal viewpoint and experience. It’s great work that I always enjoy taking in.
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The subject matter in his work is strong but Scholder seems to have won the battle, to have transcended pure subject. His words above are important for artists in any genre to keep in mind. I know that that this act of transcendence is something I aspire to whenever I am before the easel.
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Sometimes I win and sometimes I don’t.
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Posted in Favorite Things, Quote | Tagged Fritz Scholder, Quote | 3 Comments »
Climbed onto the interwebs this morning and made my way to the YouTube. Needed to find something to play for this Sunday morning and wasn’t sure where to turn. Something deep and ponderous? Retro blast from the past? Cool jazz cats?
I didn’t know what would turn up or where I’d find myself.
Oddly, this morning I didn’t have to go far. It was waiting for me on my YouTube homepage.
It was new, just released in mid-July. It was light. It was seasonal. It had a goofy video. It seemed like a nice respite from watching the news and wringing hands.
Well, alright, let’s go with it. It’s a little ditty called Blueberry Jam from Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, aka Will Oldham. He’s been a unique voice on the American music scene for a number of years and I’ve featured his music here a couple of times, once with him performing his I Am Goodbye and another with the epic cover of his song I See a Darkness from Johnny Cash.
Give a listen and grab a blueberry for yourself this morning.
Posted in Music, Neat Stuff, Video | Tagged Bonnie Prince Billy, Johnny Cash, Music, Sunday Morning Music, Will Oldham | 1 Comment »
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Commonplace objects are constantly changing… The pies, for example, we now see, are not going to be around forever. We are merely used to the idea that things do not change.
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I am not really hungry this morning but I felt like looking at some pies. Well, paintings of pies. And more specifically, those from Wayne Thiebaud, a favorite of mine. He’s going to turn 98 years old in November. I am not sure if he is still painting but I think he probably is. He was still painting two years ago when the following short film was produced by Christie’s auction house. If you have five minutes I urge you to take a look.
Posted in Favorite Things, Quote | Tagged Christie's, Quote, Wayne Thiebaud | 2 Comments »
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